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PEOPLE
IEEE SOLID-STATE CIRCUITS MAGAZINE FALL
2011 33
Abstract
As silicon technology continues to scale
with commercial transit frequencies (f T) ex-
ceeding 250 GHz, new applications and op-
portunities arise to exploit it.
A number of ongoing projects at the Berke-
ley Wireless Research Center (BWRC) strive
to push the boundaries of the technology to
new limits by exploring the application of the
60-GHz spectrum for high-data-rate commu-
nication, with a focus on extreme energy ef-
ficiency without compromising performance,
targeting a complete four-channel phased ar-
ray in 65-nm CMOS technology with record
low 27 mW/channel power consumption for
the receiver and the transmitter with the capa-
bility to communication up to 10 Gb/s. On the
transmitter of the IF-phase shifting architecture
that is used to realize high phase accuracy, a
6-b phase interpolator can realize a phase res-
olution of 5.6°, whereas a digitally controlled
I/Q VGA-based phase interpolator on the re-ceiver realizes
11° of resolution; measured
array patterns realize beam-nulling of 40 dB
on the transmitter and 290 dB on the receiver.
The second part of the talk explored ultra-
wideband 90-GHz carrier signals for a timed-
array pulse-based medical imaging radar for
noninvasive detection of tumors and included
system-level considerations and measure-
ments from our prototype transmitter, with an
integrated on-chip antentronic structure.
—Ali M. Niknejad
University of California, Berkeley
I
DL Ali M. Niknejad Delivers Technical Tour de Forceon Energy
Efficient mm-Wave Communicationand Medical Imaging at
SSCS-VancouverIn a visit to SSCS-Vancouver on
12 May 2011 SSCS Distinguished
Lecturer Ali M. Niknejad of the
University of California, Berkeley,
presented a mind-boggling technical
talk on “Energy Effi cient mm-Wave
Communication and Medical Imag-
ing.” More than half the audience of
30 engineers, researchers, profes-
sors, and students from the Univer-
sity of British Columbia came from
local high-tech companies—a record
ratio for SSCS-Vancouver special
events. The meeting ended with an
enthusiastic Q&A focused on on-chipDigital Ob ject
Identifier 10.1109/MSSC.2011.942452
Date of publication: 8 November 2011
RXLO
Buffer
LOBuffer
HybridWilkinson TX
PLL
2.5 mm
3.5 mm
FIGURE 1: Die photo of a four-channel 60-GHz transceiver
incorporating IF phase shiftingimplemented in 65 nm CMOS. A
combined distributed/lumped passive element designmethodology and
scaled (high Z) devices are used to minimize area and power.
Presentedat ISSCC 2011 with collaborator Prof. Elad Alon.
FIGURE 2: Die photo of a 90-GHz trans-mitter pulser, with
measured pulses aslow as 26 ps implemented in a 130-nmSiGe process.
The on-chip antentronic structure is clearly visible in the
figure andincludes distributed switching elementsto aid the
generation of sharp radiatedpulses. Presented at ISSCC 2010,
and
winner of the 2010 Jack Kilby Award forOutstanding Student
Paper.
Digital Control Bits and Bias
Pulse
Generation
QVCO
M o d e S e l e c t
PAHigh-Speed Buffer
Antenna
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34 FALL 2011 IEEE SOLID-STATE CIRCUITS MAGAZINE
I In two lectures at SSCS-New York in
May and SSCS-Santa Clara in June,
Prof. Mohamad Sawan of Polytech-
nique Montreal focused on circuits
and systems techniques for the
design, implementation, and inte-
gration of biosensing and treatment
microsystems. He described fully
implantable devices that interact
with the neural system and inter-
connect with intracortical neural
tissues to bidirectionally exchange
data with an external base station,
with wireless links used for power-
ing up.
antenna structure, its radiation effi -
ciency, and simulation methodology.
All who were polled agreed that
Prof. Niknejad’s technical vision and
stunning presentation set a new bar
for SSCS-Vancouver.
—Shahriar Mirabbasi
Chair, SSCS-Vancouver
Digital Ob ject Identifier
10.1109/MSSC.2011.942453
Date of publication: 8 November 2011
“Brain-Machine-Brain Wireless Interfaces for
IntracorticalBiosensing and Subsequent Treatments” in Talk by DL
MohamadSawan at SSCS-New York and Santa Clara in May and June
RF Link
Digital SOC
Mixed-Signal SOC
Biocompatible
Coating
External Controller
RF Link
Digital SOC
Mixed-Signal SOC
• Tranceiver
• Data Processing• Data Packaging Using IEEE 802.11b
Standard
• Energy Management
• ac/dc Converters and Regulators• Data
Modulation/Demodulation
• Antenna
• Data Compression• Spike Detection
Telecommunication Module
Memory (Registers)
Multiplexing
Amplification
Analog DigitalConversion
Digital Signal Processing
C o n t r o l l e r
0.4 mm
FIGURE 1: Digital building blocks to record APs and
transmit them to the base station.
